


a quiet, starry place

by sad_goomy



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: 100 followers gift, Anniversary, F/M, First Love, Fluff, and too many smirks/raised brows probably, don't do this at home kids, featuring Gladion's shaky hand, fluffy deleted scene from 'much ado', it's here and it's cheesy, lonashipping, mahinashipping, unsafe golf cart driving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-01 15:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sad_goomy/pseuds/sad_goomy
Summary: Gladion and Moon very nearly forget their one-year anniversary.But Moon has a plan, Gladion has a gift, and they both have one of the best nights of their lives.





	a quiet, starry place

**From: Moonbeam [Thursday 21:38]**  
_guess what we both forgot -m._

**From: Mr. President [Thursday 21:40]**  
_Can I have a hint?_

**From: Moonbeam [Thursday 21:41]**  
_sunday –m._

**From: Moonbeam [Thursday 21:41]**  
_rhymes with ‘fun-near shmanniversary’ -m._

**From: Mr. President [Thursday 21:41]**  
_Shit_.

**From: Mr. President [Thursday 21:43]**  
_I’m just realizing, have we not celebrated any anniversary so far?_

**From: Moonbeam [Thursday 21:45]**  
_we’re the worst –m._

**From: Mr. President [Thursday 21:46]**   
_We’ve both been busy_

**From: Moonbeam [Thursday 21:47]**  
_I had a plan for our 6 month, too –m._

**From: Moonbeam [Thursday 21:47]**  
_and then UB nonsense happened –m._

**From: Mr. President [Thursday 21:47]**  
_“Nonsense”_

**From: Moonbeam [Thursday 21:48]**  
_you got a better word that summarizes the 3 strangest months of our lives? -m._

**From: Mr. President [Thursday 21:51]**  
_Touche_

**From: Moonbeam [Thursday 21:51]**  
_omfg you actually tried to think of a word didn’t you –m._

* * *

He’s typing his response when his phone vibrates, her face popping up on screen before he smiles and accepts her call. 

“I’ll have you know I was in the middle of a witty retort,” Gladion says with a smile. 

Moon snorts on the other end of the line. “Go on then.” 

“It’s too devastating to say out loud.” He places his left hand in the pocket of his trousers, looking at the floor with the smile that her voice always brings out of him. Silvally watches him from his bed in the corner, Gladion beginning to leisurely pace around his bedroom as he asks, “So how have we made it this far without celebrating a single anniversary?” 

“Because that’s what normal people do,” she mumbles, and he can hear the creak of a wicker chair – she must be out on her patio. 

“Heaven forbid we start acting like normal teenagers.” 

“Is that why you haven’t gotten your license yet?” 

Gladion deadpans to the wall. “I’ll have you know it’s perfectly normal to wait a year before you – stop.” 

“Stop what?” Her voice is drenched in innocence, her eyelash flutter practically visible through the phone. 

“I _know_ you were making that face.” 

“What face?” 

“Your ‘Gladion is an old curmudgeon trapped in a seventeen-year old body’ face.” 

A long, low whistle glides into his ears. “Alarmingly accurate. Do you have names for all my faces?” 

“Of course.” He stops his pacing in front of his dresser, his eyes landing on a long, silver box he’s had for about three weeks now. His fingers tap along the top, drumming out a rhythm as he mumbles with a lopsided smile, “And right now you’re making your cute ‘Gladion is full of shit but I still love him’ face.” 

“You think I’m cute?” 

He chuckles as he forces himself to stop toying with the box; Olivia bragged about how sturdy it is, but he shouldn’t be taking his chances, certainly not when he might finally give it to her. “The secret is out. Now what exactly are we doing about this Sunday?” 

She hums, making him raise a brow as he leans against the dresser. It’s the hum she usually makes when she has a very elaborate (very adrenaline-rushing) plan. “I have an idea.” 

“Am I going to like it?” 

“I hope so.” 

“Can I take you to dinner before?” He crosses his arms, adding with a smirk, “Unless the idea is a literal rollercoaster.” 

“Dinner would be great,” she purrs, and a group of Pikipek chirp to each other in the background, “That Kalosian place that just opened on Ula’ula?” 

He raises a brow. “We’re going fancy then?” 

“Why not?” There’s a pause, and the silence carries a weight that fully lands on his shoulders when she mumbles, “Let’s pretend to be normal teenagers for once.” 

And after a year of saving the world, learning how to run a foundation, and hunting aliens, he thinks that might just be the best anniversary present she could get him. 

He hopes his gift measures up, too. 

* * *

She very nearly makes him put a blindfold on after dinner. 

He talks her out of it, under the pretense that he’d rather not trip and eat shit on their anniversary. 

(And also maybe because he loves the way she looks in her dress and he’d rather spend as much time looking at her as possible.) 

It also turns out to be for his safety, because after dinner she leads him to a golf cart she has at the ready, and Gladion learns that as talented as his girlfriend is, there’s one thing she’s objectively terrible at. 

Driving. 

He grips the edge of his seat as they go careening up the path to Mount Hokulani, thankful for the iron siderails lining the road and the fact that the usual shuttles aren’t running. Moon keeps her foot firmly on the gas pedal and her eyes flicker from the road to his worried expression with a mischievous glint. 

“Remind me why _you’re_ driving,” he mutters after a particularly sharp left turn – he double checks his blazer pocket to make sure the box hasn’t fallen out in the madness. 

She smirks. “Because you don’t have your license.” 

“Neither do you!” 

“No, but I have a permit and Kahili’s blessing to use this golf cart.” Her wink cuts through his scowl, and luckily for both of them the road is beginning to straighten out as they near the top. 

At this point, Gladion is more than sure that they’re headed for Hokulani Observatory. He looks at her, trying to figure out what’s going on as he points out slowly, “You know the observatory closes early on Sundays, right?” 

“To the general public, yes.” She gives him a smirk, pulling into a parking spot and turning off the engine before pulling a key card out of her pocket. “But I cashed in a favor with Soph and Molayne.” 

He raises his brows but says no more, letting her lead the way as she scans them into the building. Her heels click against the tile floor, and Gladion slows his walk, realizing that it’s been months since he’s last been here. Most of the lights are off, and the exhibits are oddly peaceful to look at in the low light, almost like the model satellites are actually floating in space right alongside him. 

Moon turns to watch him, a fond smile tugging at her lips before she goes to his side, gently taking his hand as they walk together. 

“What are you thinking about?” 

Gladion looks down at her, at the shining silver eyes that seem to be made of starlight on a girl that only the cosmos themselves could have conjured. He wonders how he got so lucky, wonders what force of the universe he should be thanking for bringing her into his life when he needed her most. There are nights when he goes to sleep with the fear that he’ll wake up and find that she’s just a dream, and every morning he wakes up relieved to know that she’s still here in the world, and he still has the honor to be at her side. 

His mouth goes dry and there’s a lump he can barely speak around in his throat. “Nothing.” 

He wishes he was more eloquent in the moments that count, but she understands everything he doesn’t say and squeezes his hand before leading them to the door to the planetarium. If he strains his ears, he can hear a soft piano in the distance, something different from the usual bombastic score used during the planetarium shows. 

Moon swipes the keycard once more and opens the double doors, stepping inside and turning to watch him, biting her lower lip in suspense for his reaction. 

Gladion’s jaw drops as he walks in, slowly turning as he takes in the sprawl of constellations above them, the delicate lullaby he once played for her guiding him towards the center as it plays on the loudspeakers. He pauses, watching it all in awe, before turning to look at the girl standing a few feet away, still watching him nervously, the constellation of freckles on her skin seeming to blend in with the night sky above. 

Her voice is soft as she asks, “What do you think?” 

And the words finally come to him as he stands there, watching her under a swirling map of stars. 

“I think I’m the luckiest person in the world.” 

Her eyes light up and a breathless giggle escapes her lips before he pulls her into a kiss, thumbs tracing the freckles on her cheeks. When he pulls her close, he can feel the box in his pocket press against his ribs, and when they pull away, he steels his nerves. With her arms around his neck, he drops one hand to her waist and the other reaches into his blazer, pulling out the long, thin box. 

“I also have a present,” he whispers, as though the stars might hear, “Although it’s a little less impressive.” 

“I’m sure it’s amazing.” She carefully takes the box from him, nearly reverent even in her curiosity. He watches closely as she unwraps the ribbon, letting it fall to the floor, and his left hand begins to shake despite his grip on her waist. 

Moon pauses, feeling his nerves. Before she opens the gift, she lifts his left hand, pressing a smile into his fingers. Gladion’s chest swells, but he teases all the same, “Isn’t that supposed to be my move?” 

She laughs, and they meld into a side hug, Gladion holding her with steady hands as she finally opens the box and lets out a small gasp. 

Laying on a bed of soft cotton is a necklace with a delicate chain and a smooth moonstone at its center. 

“It’s beautiful,” she mumbles, eyes full of wonder as her fingers trace the edge of the stone, watching the colors shift even in the low light. 

He watches her with the same wonder. “A bit on the nose, but -” 

“I love it.” She turns to him with a smile, carefully pulling out the necklace as she asks, “Help me?” 

He takes the necklace from her and she sets the box on a nearby chair, lifting her hair so he can see the clasp. When it’s in place, she drops her hair and turns, showing him as it sits just below her collarbones, as though she was born with the stone in her chest and to have it any other way would be wrong. 

And before he can tell her how beautiful she is, or how happy she makes him, she steals the words right out of his mouth. 

“I love you.” 

It’s not the first time she’s said it, but in this moment it feels like a promise, and he can’t help but smile as he pulls her back in for a hug, mumbling into her hair, “I love you, too.” 

As the music continues to play, he can feel their bodies beginning to sway, and so he places a hand at her waist and holds her left hand in his right, leading them in a simple slow dance around the center of the room. She keeps her head on his chest, listening to his heart as a steady beat behind the piano, behind every step they take, and she closes her eyes and smiles. 

And as they float, they start to think that they could spend the rest of their life in this very moment, alone together in space with the rest of the world a million miles away. 

**Author's Note:**

> A tad late, but here's the gift from 100 followers on Tumblr! It's fluffy and self-indulgent and I hope you all like it <3
> 
> Originally, I did want to fit the actual scene of Gladion giving Moon the necklace into 'much ado', but there just wasn't a place for it in the narrative, so here it is separately instead. Now the scene with their first "I love you," on the other hand......


End file.
